Author: Jason Wilder

Personal Documentary – Jen Casasanta

The Personal Documentary Class at Flower City Arts Center is an outlet for photography students to practice critically looking at and discussing photo edits, essays and bodies of work. It also serves as a building block for the students to start making their own body of work and thinking of how to present their body of work in forms of edits.

Each week, the students shared their edits and their experiences during the pandemic. Together in class, we discussed what works and doesn’t work in the edits and the experiences in building our bodies of work. In just eight classes, each of the students were able to discover using photography as a tool to not only document their life but as an attempt to make sense of and/or cope with the world around us.

My vision for this class was for the students to have their own pop-up show for the last class as part of the learning experience, inviting members of the Flower City Arts Center community. Since that cannot happen, some students have chosen to display their work on this blog.

 

 

Since the pandemic, I have been working from home with my new co-workers- who happen to be my pets. My husband has continued to work outside the home like “normal”. We live in an old, rambling farmhouse with lots of rooms, windows, doors and shadows. Since we haven’t been able to leisurely leave the house I have taken a ton of online classes- from gardening to tap dancing to this documentary photography class. Because of this class, I have started looking at my days as a collection of moments. I typically take photos of nature and landscapes so am drawn to beautiful things. I don’t look at my everyday life as interesting enough to photograph, besides maybe a cute pet photo, my gardens or art projects. What I have found though, is that even photographs of a seemingly “mundane” nature can be really interesting and draw a person in. I chose to use the same lens for the whole project to add a “landscape” feel to an intimate setting. My creatures are the “stars” of this and being home all day has given me the chance to see what they do all day…which is nothing;) My pets are a huge part of my life and are with us for a relatively short period of time so this will be a wonderful record of them and how we lived during the pandemic.

Jen Casasanta

IG: @jencasasanta

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Personal Documentary – Mandy Buckner

The Personal Documentary Class at Flower City Arts Center is an outlet for photography students to practice critically looking at and discussing photo edits, essays and bodies of work. It also serves as a building block for the students to start making their own body of work and thinking of how to present their body of work in forms of edits.

Each week, the students shared their edits and their experiences during the pandemic. Together in class, we discussed what works and doesn’t work in the edits and the experiences in building our bodies of work. In just eight classes, each of the students were able to discover using photography as a tool to not only document their life but as an attempt to make sense of and/or cope with the world around us.

My vision for this class was for the students to have their own pop-up show for the last class as part of the learning experience, inviting members of the Flower City Arts Center community. Since that cannot happen, some students have chosen to display their work on this blog.

I joined Jason’s class to learn about street photography and finished with a meaningful collection showcasing the wonder my son displays while experiencing the world. I found that my son is my sanity. Even before the pandemic he keeps me grounded while also encouraging me to embrace the imaginary. Jason does a great job as an instructor. I felt very supported each week as I honed in on my focus for my final collection. Taking a class via Zoom seemed daunting but it was very doable and enjoyable.

Mandy Buckner

 

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Personal Documentary – Chad Collier

The Personal Documentary Class at Flower City Arts Center is an outlet for photography students to practice critically looking at and discussing photo edits, essays and bodies of work. It also serves as a building block for the students to start making their own body of work and thinking of how to present their body of work in forms of edits.

Each week, the students shared their edits and their experiences during the pandemic. Together in class, we discussed what works and doesn’t work in the edits and the experiences in building our bodies of work. In just eight classes, each of the students were able to discover using photography as a tool to not only document their life but as an attempt to make sense of and/or cope with the world around us.

My vision for this class was for the students to have their own pop-up show for the last class as part of the learning experience, inviting members of the Flower City Arts Center community. Since that cannot happen, some students have chosen to display their work on this blog.

I grew up in this house. The Green and White House. Moved out and came back more times than I’d like to admit. This house has been one of the most consistent things throughout my life. Along with the people inside it, it has always been here no matter what stage I’m at in my life. Graduating kindergarten, or high school, or college. Got a new job or lost a job. Visiting with a partner or living here single. As a child and as a parent.

This personal documentary class has allowed me time to capture my life and interactions within the “Green and White House” during a strange time for all of us. From giving myself a haircut in the bathroom to being a home school teacher in the kitchen.

Chad Collier
IG: @ca.collier

Class Roll:
Kathryn Mariner
Chad Collier

Personal Documentary – Kathryn Mariner

The Personal Documentary Class at Flower City Arts Center is an outlet for photography students to practice critically looking at and discussing photo edits, essays and bodies of work. It also serves as a building block for the students to start making their own body of work and thinking of how to present their body of work in forms of edits.

Each week, the students shared their edits and their experiences during the pandemic. Together in class, we discussed what works and doesn’t work in the edits and the experiences in building our bodies of work. In just eight classes, each of the students were able to discover using photography as a tool to not only document their life but as an attempt to make sense of and/or cope with the world around us.

My vision for this class was for the students to have their own pop-up show for the last class as part of the learning experience, inviting members of the Flower City Arts Center community. Since that cannot happen, some students have chosen to display their work on this blog.

I moved to Rochester in 2015, and before that, I lived in Chicago for seven years. During that time, I lived in four different apartments. Between the four apartments, there were six bathrooms. And only one had a window. They were mostly like tombs, dark and wet, deemed unimportant, tucked away at the center of structures. A shored up bunker to retreat during nasty storms or if you heard a tornado siren, no chance of broken glass. Just fluorescent bulbs in place of sunlight. In 2016, I started renting half of a duplex in Swillburg, and the bathroom is the reason I signed the lease. The walls are half white tile, topped with plaster painted the color of a moody sky. The white bathtub is in one corner and open on two sides, with just a clear plastic shower curtain liner, to let in as much light as possible. The ceiling is glossy white beadboard, and the floor is dark one-inch square stone tile that reminds me of river rocks, but more orderly. And there is a glorious old window, with two painted wooden frames that unlock and swing into the room when open. Even though this bathroom is easily my favorite room in the house (perhaps in any place I’ve ever called home, if I’m honest), when I signed up for this photo class, I would have laughed if someone suggested that it would become the primary site of my photographic explorations. The bathroom? Ridiculous. But from the very first assignment, I made a beeline for my medicine cabinet. And then the window caught in its mirror’s reflection. My cat, Eartha Kitt, spends a lot of time in that window, now that it is open daily to let the early summer breeze in. The padded stool where I sit while my partner cuts my hair. The vanity, where so much handwashing has taken place. The bathtub, to wash the day away. It is a meditative refuge in a sea of uncertainty. A calm sanctuary when the outside world is a mess. An intimate space, where gentle care can take place.

Kathryn (Kate) Mariner, LMSW, PhD
(pronouns: she, her)
Wilmot Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies
University of Rochester
Author of Contingent Kinship: The Flows and Futures of Adoption in the United States (2019, University of California Press)

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Class Roll:
Kathryn Mariner
Chad Collier